ahoy! from LA

Hey there internet. :]

I’ve been playing hooky from work for the past week, visiting relatives in Los Angeles. I haven’t been here in 5 years, and while it’s as exhausting as I remember, it’s also pretty exhilarating getting a look into the entertainment industry via my Aunt (who was a producer and now chair’s UCLA’s Film & Animation department). I got to go to the premiere of Despicable Me; ADORABLE! I had no idea what I was in for at first, thanks to a very secretive advertising campaign, but ‘super-villian Gru adopting 3 cheeky orphans’ plot = right up my alley. And the dialogue was surprisingly engaging and hilarious; I’m interested whether Steve Carell ad libbed or if the script was just genius, ’cause DAMN. This has been an encouraging year in terms of CG animation; I think companies are finally taking the hint from Pixar and actually attempting to make animated features rather than just rehashing the same tired and childish jokes with different skins. Albeit, there was a fart joke or two, but I was able to let it slide because of the strength of character, strength of dialogue, FANTASTIC soundtrack and perfect casting. It’s not the best animated feature I’ve seen by a long shot, but it was cute, it tried, and there were some really stellar moments between Gru and the girls. I’m glad I went, and I hope everyone isn’t put off by the advertising focusing on Gru’s minions, the little yellow dudes. They were cute, but I think the movie is strongest when it focuses on Gru himself, and his journey from #2 villian of the world to #1 Dad. (oh man. that was cheesy.)

Anyway. I get back to San Francisco on the 5th; I will TRY to actually upload some art (as this is an art blog) at that time. I was having issues w/storage and trying to update storage space, but I think I can figure it out and get the ball rolling again sometime next week. Fingers crossed?

Peace, internet;

-Caitlin